Gabe (In the Company of Snipers, #8)(21)

She looked up at him through tears and sweat, and growled, “You’re not dumb.”

Another contraction gripped her belly. Frightened emerald greens blinked. She whined. Dr. Hehrsmann told her to push again and—

Alexander Marcus Mortimer was born on a gush of blood and water. He uttered an angry baby scream that made Harley smile and cry at the same time. Big alligator tears blurred the sight of his newborn son.

Harley wanted to crow and cry at the same time. The world needed to know. That’s my boy!

Dr. Hehrsmann calmly suctioned the baby’s mouth and nose while the little guy sputtered and kicked. Baby Alex let out another angry wail. Harley winced. The doctor might know what she what doing, but she sure handled his boy a lot rougher than he expected newborns should be handled. She flopped the little guy gently to his back onto Judy’s abdomen like a fish while she clamped the umbilical cord. Eying Harley expectantly, she extended a pair of surgical scissors handle first. “Are you ready?”


“Yes, ma’am.” He released Judy’s shoulders and took hold of the scissors. With a nervous clip, he looked at Judy. God, he could hardly see her through his tears, but what a sweet smile shone through those tired green eyes of hers.

She pinched her lips in a kiss while he accomplished his first official chore of fatherhood. He severed the umbilical cord. Baby Alex flailed under the bright lights, as if the whole world startled him. As if he needed someone to hold him tight so he wouldn’t fall. As if he needed his daddy.

An overwhelming need to save his son washed over Harley, but Judy squirmed, arching her back to keep her eyes on her son despite the contraction assaulting her body. “How... how is he? Is he healthy?”

“He’s perfect,” Harley whispered, his heart literally in his throat at the miracle unfolding.

“His color is good. You can hold him the minute his little brother gets here, okay?” Dr. Hehrsmann said. “You’re doing fine. Rest for a minute. Relax. Breathe.”

Judy rubbed the side of her sweaty face against the pillow. “I’m tired.”

Harley wanted to see his son again, but one nurse had taken the little guy and stretched him out to measure him, while another blackened his feet for footprints. Little Alex hadn’t made a sound since the nurses took him, probably because he was under the heat lamp. Harley wanted to hear him again, just to be sure. The poor little fellow had squeezed out of a very narrow tunnel. Damn. No wonder he’d screamed the second he’d shown up.

“We’re in the home stretch.” Dr. Hehrsmann held her palm on Judy’s abdomen. This time she met Harley’s eyes with kindness. “Are you two ready?”

“Why not?” Judy asked tiredly. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Harley kissed the top of her head. “I’m here, darlin’.”

She peered up at him, her eyes brimming and her lips puckered, ready to cry. “I know,” she squeaked. “I’m sorry I was so mean.”

Another contraction commenced. Within three minutes of his older brother, George Patrick Mortimer slid silently into the world.

“Is he okay?” Harley and Judy asked at the same time. Baby George hadn’t made a peep.

Dr. Hehrsmann suctioned the infant’s mouth and nose before she held him up with a big smile. “Congratulations. You have two very handsome and healthy sons.”

Little George blinked wide-open eyes at the bright lights, his tongue darting in and out like a baby lizard’s. The doctor laid him across Judy’s stomach. Judy smoothed her hand over the little guy’s bald head while Harley wrapped an arm around her, placing a fervent kiss on her forehead.

He choked. “I love you so much, wife.”

“I love you, Harley,” she said, cupping his jaw with her palm.

Harley stepped forward again to clip his second son’s umbilical cord. The nurses took baby George to join his brother. While the doctor attended to Judy, the nurses performed all the necessary assessments to evaluate the twin’s heart rates, breathing, muscle tone, and reflexes. Harley watched anxiously while they collected blood samples, took footprints, and finally wrapped the boys in blue-striped receiving blankets.

At last, Harley held his twin warriors, their heads covered with knitted blue caps. Baby Alex squirmed while baby George was fast sleep. The moment was too much. He outright cried, baptizing his sons with tears he couldn’t stop any more than he could keep his mouth from grinning.

He sank to Judy’s side, nuzzling the top of baby George’s head. “Look at us. We got redheaded baby boys. They look just like you. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world,” he said reverently. “God, I love you.”

“Fatherhood looks good on you, Daddy.”

His heart turned to mush. He’d never thought this day would come, never thought he deserved it, but here he was, gratitude running out of his eyes like two rivers for the blessings in his arms, and all because of the woman who loved him.

“Do you even remember what day this is?” Her emerald eyes brimmed with moisture.

He had to think. The last two weeks had been one nightmare after the other, the days and dates of the calendar completely forgotten. Guilt slithered in amongst the good feelings. I haven’t forgotten her birthday, have I? Our anniversary? Damn. Just when I thought I got something right for a change.

Nothing came to mind, so he asked, “What?”